More Than Meets the Eye
by kivawolfspeaker
Summary: Watson's assistant is DIFFERENT from the show. Agent Francis finds out there's more to reality than even the Fringe divison of the FBI knows about and he's a part of it! AU
1. Everyone Has a Secret

More Than Meets the Eye

Chapter 1: Everyone Has A Secret

**~1978, Rural New York State~**

Dr. James Watson, who planned a visit to the States to see an old friend, had decided to make a short stop in New York before continuing on to Old City, Washington where his friend resided. A contact at the U.K. Sanctuary had told him about a possible werewolf clan in rural New York that he and this friend & colleague, Dr. Helen Magnus, might be interested in studying. Since James was already going to the States anyways, he decided to check it out himself, rather than tell Helen about it first. If he and his cohort, Duncan Wilson found anything of importance, than he'd have something worth mentioning.

They were in a forested area near Brooklyn. Both he and Duncan had been on the hunt for over an hour and still had found nothing that would lead someone to believe that werewolves might live here. James looked over at Duncan, whose impatience, he knew, was growing. Duncan, a tall young man with brown eyes and borderline black hair, had not wanted to come along to begin with. However, after much complaining and negotiation on the matter, Duncan reluctantly agreed.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Duncan asked, his frustration at being dragged along in the first place showing through.

"Yes, I'm sure. These creatures are quite good at hiding themselves Duncan and your impatience may be just what scares them away," James replied as he heard some rustling near the brush to the left.

"Did you hear that?" Duncan whispered to James, also hearing the same rustling.

"Yes. It appears that our friends have decided to make their presence know to us, curious creatures they are," Watson whispered back in speculation.

Duncan gave Watson a questioning look at his use of the word _friends,_ as it wasn't exactly the word he would have used to describe these creatures. Although Duncan had been working with James at the U.K. Sanctuary for some time now, he was still a bit uncomfortable around abnormals. He had slowly but surely gotten used to the ones actually at the U.K. Sanctuary and preferred to have stayed there instead. But, James had always had a way with words and thus Duncan begrudgingly agreed to come along when James asked.

James moved towards the noise, curious if his theory were correct, and careful not to make so much noise himself as to scare the creatures away. When he cleared the brush he grasped at what hew saw. He looked back in Duncan's direction, motioning for him to come over.

"What the hell happened here?" Duncan asked as he approached, scanning the multitudes of dead bodies.

"Whatever it was, it was a massacre and it happened within the last couple of days," Watson answered, as he walked over to inspect one of the apparently human corpses.

"With the look of these paw and bite markings, it looks like we may be dealing with more than one clan," James speculated out loud.

"Hold on," Duncan replied, turning further to his left.. He had one of those hunches that almost always turn out to be right.

"There," he told James, pointing towards a group of trees in the distance. "I saw something moving."

Both walked very slowly towards the trees. Neither spoke a word to each other, for fear they might scare the creature away die to un-necessary noise. As they started to draw closer, they heard what sounded like whimpering. James motioned for Duncan to lower his gun, as he lowered his own.

"Oh My God he's just a child!" Duncan whispered to James as they found the creature lying unconscious on the ground.

"And probably the only surviving member of this clan," James concluded as he started to examine the young werewolf. It wasn't too badly injured. The youngling appeared to have only minor cuts and bruises. He had probably knocked himself out while falling in an attempt to get away. As to whether he had any internal or more serious injuries, Helen would be a better judge of that.

"We have to take him with us. While he doesn't appear to be badly injured, I believe it best if Helen examines him further," Watson instructed.

Duncan than picked up the unconscious wild child at the request of his boss. He was surprisingly light. 'At least he might not have to fend for himself,' Duncan thought to himself as picked up the boy to be carried back to the car. Once he and James had reached the car, Duncan placed the boy gently in the back seat before getting in the driver's seat himself. James had never really trusted the newer technologies, things like telephones and automobiles. He was 140 years old after all. That's why Duncan always drove. James had decided to ride in the back seat with the child. He thought it better to keep him company, just in case he woke up before they reached the Sanctuary in Old City, Washington.

**~The Sanctuary, Old City, Washington State~**

The child had surprisingly slept though most of trip and was now peacefully resting in one of the Sanctuary's guestrooms.

"He's fine as far as I can tell. The only physical wounds he has are the minor cuts and bruises you mentioned. For as long as he's slept, I surprisingly find nothing else wrong with him," Helen Magnus concluded. She was a tall raven-haired woman with blue eyes and a strong-willed intelligent personality.

"That's a relief to know considering the emotional trauma he has undoubtedly experienced. Do you think you could keep him?" James asked concerned for the creature's safety and well being.

"Here? As much as I'd like to, I don't think its plausible James. I've got Ashley and Henry to raise plus the Sanctuary to run. I simply have too many responsibilities right now. I can't take in another child," Helen replied.

"Where else could he go? As far as Duncan and I can tell all his clan were killed during the massacre that probably happened only days before we found him. Helen, he has no family left. He's an orphan and I don't think I could take him in right now for the same reasons you say can't" James pled.

"Look James, I would love to have him be able to stay here as much as you would. However, I don't think it would be any better for him than had you left him out there to fend for himself. Honestly, I think our best recourse is to give him to an adoption agency," Helen told him.

"Then perhaps it's best the agency be one near where he was found in New York State. I also think we should set up a way to track him so when he does start going through his metamorphosis, one of us can find him easier," James said, giving Helen a concerned look.

"I agree. I can also give him something that will deter his metamorphosis for some time, but it won't permanently prevent it from happening. I'll make the arrangements immediately and you can take him with you when you leave," Helen told him as she got up to go to her office.

**~Federal Building: Boston, Massachusetts: Present Day~**

FBI Special Agent Charlie Francis was in his commanding officer, Philip Broyles' office discussing a possible lead on "The Pattern" and ZFT.

"How does an un-solved British serial homicide case from over a century ago fit in with all this? Doesn't this seem just a little bit odd to you?" Charlie asked unconvinced of the cases relevance.

"Francis, we deal with 'odd' daily. I don't understand the link, if there is one, either, however British intelligence seems convinced there is one. Since we have more experience dealing with ZFT and The Pattern, they thought we might have better luck finding one. If we do end up finding one and ZFT decides to go international with these attacks, this could turn out to be very valuable intelligence. Do you hear me, Agent Francis?" Broyles answered commandingly.

"Yes Sir. And since Agent Dunham is still in a meeting with William Bell, you want me to look into to this?"

"That would be correct, Agent Francis," Broyles told Charlie.

"Alright," Charlie answered with a questioning look before heading back to his desk. His instincts told him there was no connection between the un-solved "Jack the Ripper" case and The Pattern, however since Broyles was his commanding officer, he knew he would have no choice but to look into the matter. He sighed as he threw the file on his desk. It had been a long day already and he was still trying to rap his head around the whole alternate reality concept.

After a few seconds, he noticed another file on his desk that wasn't there before his meeting with Broyles. Being the curious person he was, he picked up the file and opened it. There weren't many things that completely shocked him, but this was one of them. It turned out to be his own and it was the un-doctored version at that. What shocked him wasn't so much that it was his file, but more the information that had been doctored. As far as he knew, he had lived a relatively normal childhood; born in Brooklyn, NY, with one older brother. Then, when he was ten, they moved to Boston because his mother had changed jobs.

He didn't really remember much of his early childhood, if anything. Most of his childhood memories were from when he was eight years old and older and perhaps what the un-doctored version of his file revealed was the reason why. According to this version, he was actually adopted by those he thought were his parents around the age of eight. A man named Duncan Wilson from London, England had apparently dropped him off at a St. Jude's Adoption Agency.

'What the hell would an Englishman be doing in the U.S. dropping off a kid at an adoption agency?' Charlie thought to himself. He gathered his black trench coat, gloves, & keys and headed out of the office to his car.

Once inside, Charlie took out his cell phone and called his brother Richard who lived in Brooklyn, New York. He knew his brother would have been old enough to verify the information in his file and he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had about it.

"Richard, it's me, Charlie. I need to ask you a question and I want the truth. Was I adopted?" Charlie asked his brother trying to keep the multitude of emotions that were currently attempting to surface from overwhelming him.

"What makes you think that Charlie?" Richard asked, attempting to hide his fear for his little brother.

"Because I just read the un-edited version of my own Bureau file that states mom and dad did adopt me after I was dropped off at an adoption agency. Look, I just want to know the truth," Charlie retorted.

After a long silence, his brother answered, "It's true. . . What the file says is true."

"Why didn't anyone tell me? If it was just a simple adoption, why hide this from me?" Charlie asked his brother. There was more here than met his eye.

"I . . . I knew there would . . . come a day . . . when you would find out the truth. I just wish it had come from Mom or Dad first. . . This was kept from you because we wore told that if a certain group of people found out, you would be taken from us," Richard finished and broke into tears.

"Okay, claim down. No one's going to abduct me and I'm not going to fall off the face of the earth. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, I promise," Charlie said, trying to reassure his brother. Truth was, he didn't know what to believe. Someone wanted him to know he'd been adopted; that the world he grew up in wasn't really what he thought it was and he had a feeling it wasn't Broyles. Was this someone another ZFT mole? Was ZFT the group of people his brother was talking about? Had he been treated with Cortexiphan and not been "activated" yet?

Even with the questions pilling up inside his head, he was too tired to think straight right now. He needed to get home and get some sleep so he could be ready for work tomorrow. He started his silver Toyota Prius and pulled out of the underground parking ramp. Once at the gate, he looked into the iris scanner, the gate came up and Charlie drove into the street towards home.

He was about ten minutes away from home when a black van pulled out right in front of him. Charlie slammed on the breaks. He quickly unbuckled himself, and grabbed his gun, badge & keys. He unlocked the door, kicking it open and broke into a run towards the park nearby. It was a centrally located park with restaurants and shops around that by this time should be closed. Someone was after him and he had no intention of getting captured.

Gun shots came at him from behind, managing to just miss his head. He hid behind the nearest tree, turned around and fired back, missing his intended targets. The cycles of back and forth shooting went on for a couple of minutes. Then, unbeknownst to Charlie, four of his attackers, two from either side, came out from their hiding places.

"Stay right there and don't move," the apparent leader of the four said as they all pointed their weapons at Charlie.

"What do you want?" Charlie asked, his own weapon up, ready to defend himself.

"We want to help you," a tall man with an English accent told him.

"If you want to help me, what's with all the shooting? Oh, and I'm fine thank you. I don't need your help," Charlie told them, still very suspicious of their motives.

"Very well then. You leave us no choice," The Englishman said, as two of his accomplices shot Charlie.

"Ah", Charlie gasped. He dropped his gun as he crumbled to the ground. His eyes shot wide open with fear as the tranquilizer hit his system. He tried to fight the effect it was having, but as strong as he was, he couldn't. It was simply too strong. His vision began to blur as his attackers drew closer, until he finally passed out.


	2. Memory's a Bitch

**Chapter 2: Memory's a Bitch**

Charlie awoke with a start. He found himself alone, for the moment; sitting in some kind of metal chair with blinders attached its head at the sides. This gave him a very narrow line of sight, much to Charlie's annoyance. From what he could see, he noticed his button-up shirt; suit coat and tie had all been removed, leaving him in his black undershirt. He tried to lift his arms and move his feet, but didn't have much luck. They had strapped him down with hose leather cuffs you'd see on mental patients to prevent them from hurting themselves. When he tried to pull away from the chair, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Charlie grimaced from the pain and saw a wire coming out of his chest of the corner of his eyes. 'Damn, that probably means they've put an IV in me, injecting God knows what,' Charlie thought. From what he could see, which was limited due to the metal blinders, he was in some sort of laboratory.

"You're finally awake. You are quite the heavy sleeper," Stated a creepy voice to Charlie's left.

"Who are you and what do you what from me?" Charlie asked the old man with the creepy voice, as he came into view.

"I'm your doctor and like my colleagues told you earlier, we're here to help you with a special condition you have," the creepy man answered.

Charlie gave this "doctor" a suspicious look. This doctor, as he called himself, creped Charlie out even more than that "monster" that impregnated him a couple of weeks ago. "What condition? Was I treated with an experimental drug called Cortexiphan?"

"Since I don't know what Cortexiphan is, I can't answer that question. However, the condition to which I was referring to is your being a _class 9 hyper-accelerated protein life-form_," The doctor answered while grabbing a clip-board from the nearest table.

"Last I checked, I was a human being a.k.a. _Homo Sapien_," Charlie retorted.

"Oh, I'm afraid you've been misinformed than Agent Francis; probably for what they thought was your own best interests," the man said with a slight sly smile on his face.

'Wait, did he just call me _Agent Francis_? These guys know exactly who I am, yet clam to not know what Cortexiphan is? What the hell is going on? Who the hell are these guys' Charlie thought to himself.

"You know we're on to you guys. If my colleagues find me before I escape, you'll be in a Federal prison in no time," Charlie threatened.

"Oh, you think you can threaten us? I'm quite sure you and your colleagues at the Bureau have no idea who we are," the creepy doctor laughed.

"What makes you so sure?" Francis asked trying to sound unconvinced.

"Because, we're not ZFT," the doctor told Charlie as two more people entered the lab.

"Then who the hell are you?" Charlie asked again this time with a raised voice. What control he usually retained over his emotions was beginning to fade as he realized what little control over his situation he actually had. He'd been in some pretty rough situation before, but this topped them all, even with all "The Pattern" cases he had investigated. If this eerie doctor, was telling the truth and these guys weren't ZFT, which meant there was a potentially worse threat than even ZFT and _that was bad news._

"As for who we are, I'll leave that for you to discover yourself. Now, have you noticed anything strange happening to you lately; things such as favorite foods or coffee drinks tasting bad all of the sudden or a heightened sense of smell?" the eerie doctor asked, clipboard and pen in hand.

"No. Why?" Charlie asked with a puzzled look on his face. His capture and detainment was turning out to be nothing like Liv had described to him when she was captured & detained by ZFT. 'Perhaps this wacko doctor was telling the truth when he said they weren't ZFT,' Charlie thought to himself.

"Interesting, I would have expected your major metaphoric phase would have begun by now. But, I suppose that as with humans, your kind would have an age range in which you reach full maturity. I wonder if we could successfully, induce it? Get the serum ready," the old man told the two lab assistants, as he wrote some notes down.

When Charlie heard the doctor's orders to the lab assistants, his heart skipped a beat and drops of sweat started dripping down his face. He really didn't have much useful information on his captors or why they had taken him specifically; only that they clamed they weren't ZFT and he was a _class 9 hyper-accelerated protein life-form_ what ever the hell that meant.

"The serum's ready sir," the female lab assistant said, as she handed her boss the needle.

"Good, prepare Mr. Francis for the injection," he ordered as he put the clipboard down on the table and walked over to Charlie's right side. The lab assistant wiped Charlie's arm down and tied some rubber just above his elbow.

"You are in for one rude awakening," the doctor told Charlie as he injected the serum.

Charlie grasped as the serum hit his bloodstream. He felt an initial rush that quickly subsided as the anesthetic mixed in with the serum started to kick in. Shortly afterwards he again passed out.

Once they were sure Charlie was out cold, the doctor ordered the assistants to get Charlie fully dressed as if none of this had ever happened, ready to take him back near his car at the park. The assistants did as they were told, no questions asked. They loaded Charlie into the back of a white van, dropped him off near his car, and drove off.

Unbeknownst to the assistants, a gray haired man of medium height and build had been taking an evening walk in the park and seen the whole thing. The man, assuming Charlie was unconscious, walked up to him and gently shook him, attempting to wake him up. The man also placed some kind of business card in the breast pocket of Charlie's suit coat.

"Hey, wake up," the gray haired man said as he shook Charlie a little harder, getting him to stir.

Charlie opened his eyes slowly and stared off into space for a couple of seconds as he let his eyes re-focus. He put a hand on his forehead and grumbled. He had a splitting headache and couldn't remember how he'd gotten himself in his current situation. The last thing he remembered was talking to his brother on the phone.

"Hey, are you alright? I found you unconscious," the man asked him with a concerned look.

"Not really sure right now. To tell you the truth, I don't remember how I got here," Charlie told the man, a worried look in his eyes.

"Well, I saw some people take you out of a white van and place you here. I'm Gregory Magnus, by the way," Gregory answered back.

Gregory's answer triggered something in Charlie's mind. The headache was beginning to fade as he started to remember how could have gotten here. He saw the creepy doctor inject some sort of serum into him and tell him he "was in for one rude awakening". Shivers ran through his body as the flashes of memory came. Charlie was brought back into reality by the ringing of his cell phone. It was his wife Sonia, asking if he would be home soon. He told her he had a really long day at work and would be home in about ten minutes.

Gregory watched as Charlie drove off after having told him "Thank you." Considering his experience with The Cabal and Helen telling him about a young werewolf both James and her had to give to an adoption agency, he suspected that van was The Cabal's and the man might very well be the werewolf Helen told him about. That's why Gregory placed a Sanctuary business card in the man's breast pocket. He'd hopped in case his suspicions were correct, that he would contact Helen by dialing the number provided on the card. "I've done what I can," he murmured to himself as he continued on his evening walk.

**~Francis Residence~**

Charlie sat in his car parked in the garage. The evening's events had left him a little on edge despite his fatigued state. What exactly had happened? He still wasn't sure. He had a ton of questions that he wanted, no _needed_ answered, but he knew he needed to get at least _some_ sleep tonight before having to do something similar all over again tomorrow.

Charlie took the keys out of the ignition, got out of the car and walked into the living room. He put his suit coat on the coat rack by the front door, slid his black dress shoes off, and managed to make it to the couch before needing to sit. He felt as if almost all his energy had been drained, and it had been quite a task just to get back home and even in the house! Charlie gathered enough energy to lift his legs & feet onto the couch. He stared off into space for a while, before finally drifting off to sleep.

Charlie found himself running through a dense forest and this wasn't like when young boys go off exploring forests, starting fires. No, it was as if he were a wild child, untamed by civilization at all: as if he were meant to be raised there in the first place. He could feel the mud between his toes as his bare feet touched the forest ground. He felt the moisture in the air as it was about to rain. He felt the chilling wind pick up, carrying with it the smell of fresh pine and . . . "Oh my God!" Charlie said to himself as he woke, wide eyed, realizing the other smell was fresh blood. His heart was beating rapidly and sweat was pouring down his face. There was no way in hell he was getting any more sleep anytime soon. Fortunately, his cell phone rang. "Francis," Charlie answered. It was Olivia Dunham, his spunky supervisee at the Bureau, asking him if he was okay and where he was. Charlie checked his watch. It was 9:30 am and it wasn't like him to be late. He told her he had a rough night that he'd rather not talk about over the phone and he was on his way to work now.

**~Boston Federal Building~**

Charlie found Olivia and asked to speak with her privately in his office.

"You look like hell. What happened?" Olivia asked him.

"First off, I'd appreciate if everything said here, stays in this office, unless I say so," Charlie requested.

"Alright, fair enough," Olivia answered, respecting his request, for the time being. He had done her multiple favors in the past few months the least she could do was return this one.

"Thank you. Now, did Broyles tell you about British Intelligence thinking there's a connection between the still un-solved "Jack the Ripper" case & "The Pattern"?" Charlie asked her while sipping his morning coffee. That smell of fresh blood from his nightmare last evening was still lingering, and he wanted it gone!

"Yeah, but why does that need to be confidential and what's the connection?" Olivia asked, confused.

"It's more what I'm about to say. Because, you were meeting with William Bell, he put me on the case. Now, my instincts tell me there is no connection and the more I take into account the events of yesterday, the more I think someone is baiting me," Charlie speculated.

"Why would ZFT want to bait you? It doesn't make any sense," Olivia interrupted.

"Would you quit interrupting people?" Charlie shot back.

"Gee, someone's grumpy this morning," Olivia answered back.

"Sorry, my world's been turned upside-down since yesterday and I have to wonder if whoever's doing the turning isn't done yet. What's even scarier is, I'm not so sure its ZFT," Charlie told her, his head down. Damn, he was tried!

"Well if it isn't ZFT, then who?" Olivia inquired.

"I don't know. Some of what I'm about to say is going to sound crazy especially considering it's coming from me. After Broyles handed me the Ripper file, I went back to my desk & noticed another file had been placed there. It turned out to be my file, but the un-doctored version. According to it, I was adopted. Before I went home for the evening, I called my older brother and he verified the information.

Now, here's where things get even uglier. I was about ten minutes from, when I get cut off & forced to pull over by the nearest park. It was clear someone was after me, and I wasn't about to let myself get captured. However, they shot me with two tranquilizer guns and next thing I know, I'm bound to a metal chair with some psycho-creepy doctor injecting me with who the hell knows what," Charlie informed Olivia as he paused for air.

"No spinal tap?" Olivia asked.

"Nope, no spinal tap. But, he did claim to have no idea what Cortexiphan was and that they weren't ZFT," Charlie answered.

"He knew about ZFT but not Cortexiphan?" Olivia asked, somewhat puzzled.

"So he says, but with no spinal tap, I'm inclined to think he's telling the truth. Also, they let me go, well more like placed me by my car fully dressed as if the whole thing never happened. It got even stranger when I got home and finally fell asleep. I had the strangest dream and it didn't even feel like a dream at all. It felt more like a repressed memory trying to resurface and think it may have had something to do with whatever that creep injected me with," Charlie explained some more.

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like me," Olivia said surprised.

"You know, a little support here would be nice," Charlie shot back, taking Olivia's comment as an insult.

"Sorry, you're right. You're just not sounding like yourself," Olivia said, apologizing.

"I know and the fact that I'm even about to say I'd like Dr. Bishop's help scares me. Than again, that other doctor makes Bishop seem pale by comparison," Charlie stated.

Olivia looked at him completely stunned. Charlie rarely, if ever, admitted to being scared and she certainly hadn't expected those words to come out of his mouth.

"Remember after I was attacked by that man-made creature, Bishop offered to hypnotize me?" Charlie asked.

"You want Walter to hypnotize you because of this dream you had?" She asked him with cocked eyebrows.

"Yeah, I know, it sounds completely uncharacteristic of me, but this dream, if it was in fact only a dream, was too _vivid_! It _felt_ too real!" Charlie exclaimed, his head heavy from the weight of what was happening to him.

"Well, what was it about?" Olivia asked him.

"Of the dreams I remember, which aren't many, they typically don't involve running around bare foot in a forest and a strong smell of fresh blood, okay! Look, that doctor injected something into me and I want to find out what it is and what it's doing to me!" Charlie exclaimed again, this time looking straight into Olivia's eyes; his own pleading for help.

"Okay, claim down," Olivia said, trying to reassure him that things were going to be just fine.

Charlie sighed. He was acting very out of character and he feared it would interfere with his ability to do his job. "I think I should take some time off; at least until I figure out what the hell in going on."

"And what if we need you?"

"Right now, I'm not sure whether I can do my job or not and if I'm not sure than I need some time away from all this. Plus, I don't need Broyles worried about my sanity as well," Charlie told her.

"That would _not_ be good. Can you guess how long you'll need?"

"At least a week," Charlie answered as he walked out the door to go speak with Broyles. While grabbing his cell phone out of his breast pocket, he noticed a business card was placed in there:

**Sanctuary For All**

**Dr. Helen Magnus**

**M.D. D.T.C.X.B**

'Sanctuary For All? Sanctuary for what? Wait . . . Magnus. That's the name of that guy that woke me up! Gregory Magnus, I think he said his name was. He must have placed the card in my pocket. The man did seem genuinely concerned about my well being when he found me. Perhaps this Helen person and him know more about what happened to me?' Charlie thought to himself. After Okaying a week of leave with Broyles, Charlie found Olivia again and told her he still wanted Dr. Bishop's help.

"Okay, I'll tell him you're coming," Olivia told him.

"Thanks," Charlie said and headed to Walter's lab on Harvard University campus.

~**Harvard University, Dr. Bishop's Lab~**

"Here goes nothing," Charlie sighed, mostly to himself, as he entered the old university building.

"Agent Francis," Dr. Walter Bishop greeted.

"Dr. Bishop," Charlie greeted in return.

"Please, call me Walter. I hear you need help deciphering a dream," The middle aged doctor inquired.

"Ok then, _Walter_ yes, is it possible for a memory to resurface as a dream?" Charlie asked.

"Why yes, is that what this dream felt like?" Walter excitedly inquired.

"Yes, and I get the feeling more are coming," Charlie answered.

"Than, I suppose we'd better get to work," Walter stated, turning to some notes.

"I believe we may be of great assistance," a male voice with a British accent offered.

"Excuse me? Who are you?" A young brown-haired, blue eyed, Peter Bishop asked.

"We mean no harm. I'm Dr. James Watson and these are my assistants: Duncan Wilson and Henry Foss. May we come in?" Dr. Watson answered, pointing to each individual as he mentioned their names.

"Wait, my file said that you dropped me off at the adoption agency," Charlie stated while pointing at Duncan. There was something oddly familiar about both him and this Watson guy.

"Actually, we both did, but only Duncan is mentioned," James clarified.

James' clarification gave Charlie a feeling of nausea and he needed to sit down. His sense of smell was going crazy, as if it was turning more acute than usual. "Ahhh!" he screamed as he felt his insides start to change.

"Oh dear God! Get the sedative ready," Watson instructed Duncan. "Here, hold him down," James told the others. "We'll help you get through this, we promise," James told Charlie before he passed out.


	3. A Change in Plans

Ch. 3: A Change in Plans

As soon as Charlie passed out, Dr. Watson, Duncan, and Henry, all exchanged glances. Each of them knew they needed to figure out a way to get Charlie to the Sanctuary _without_ him completely transforming into his alter ego in front of FBI personal. That meant all three of them needed to have a talk in private.

"Duncan, Henry could I have a word with you outside?" James asked his two assistants on this mission. Both Duncan and Henry nodded in agreement, knowing it was necessary. "Would you excuse us for a moment? We have something important to discuss outside in private. If he wakes up before we are finished, alert us immediately."

Once outside, the three of them proceeded to discuss their current situation and how to safely get Charlie to the Sanctuary without any un-necessary complications. "He appears to be experiencing a rapid on set of his major metamorphosis, which means, the Cabal likely got to him first," James sighed, laying his keen observations out before his colleagues.

"You think the Cabal induced his metamorphosis?" Duncan asked, following his boss's logic.

"Yes Duncan, which means we have to be even more careful than originally planned," James answered.

"So, how do we get him to the Sanctuary before he completes his first transformative episode?" Henry asked, turning to face James.

"And how much information do we reveal about his condition to them?" Duncan added.

"Only what information is necessary. As far as getting him to the Sanctuary before his first transformative episode is complete, we'll need to convince both him & his colleagues that his best chance of getting through this is with us & Helen at the Sanctuary," James replied.

"It won't be easy and the poor guy has no idea what the hell is happening to him. I mean, I had a rough time coming to terms with this and I had forewarning from Magnus," Henry said, feeling for Charlie.

The three of them walked back to the lab each readying themselves for the ensuing debate that would soon come. When they re-entered the lab, they noticed Charlie was still unconscious and Dr. Bishop had left.

"I see he's still asleep," James commented as he entered, alerting everyone in the lab of their return.

"What exactly is happening to Charlie and why are you carrying that bag around with you everywhere you go?" Peter inquired.

"So that's his name. As for the bag, it contains a necessary component for my survival. Charlie is going through what you could call a major metamorphic phase," James responded, closely watching Peter as he relayed the information.

"Huh. And that's supposed to _mean_ what exactly?" Peter asked, arms crossed over his chest and a little frustration showing through in the tone of his voice.

"Well, without trying to sound too crazy, your friend's not as human as he appears to be," Duncan replied.

"Charlie looks perfectly human to me. What's really going on here?" Peter asked, unconvinced of Duncan's claim and sensing he wasn't being told everything.

Henry, getting a little antsy responded, "He's a werewolf going through his first major transformative episode alright!" Everyone starred at Henry, including James and Duncan, to which Henry responded with an 'oops . . . sorry' look on his face. "Look pal, all we are trying to say is Charlie's best chance of_** survival**_ even at this point, is with us. He _**needs**_ our help!" Henry pled with special emphasis on the words "survival" and "needs".

"Well, barging in here making outlandish claims like the existence of werewolves is not exactly that convincing," Peter snarked back.

"Would you like some proof? 'Cuz I can give it to you!" Henry shot back in defense of his kind.

"Henry," James said like a father trying to claim their son down.

"Enough with the suspense, if somebody has any ideas as to what the hell is happening to me, I'd love to hear them," Charlie interjected. He'd awoken a couple of moments earlier to Peter's bickering with Henry, which didn't help his headache and nobody seemed to notice.

"Have you heard of a place called The Sanctuary?" Watson asked Charlie as he turned to face him.

'The Sanctuary? Wait, the business card I found in my coat pocket,' Charlie worked through in his head, getting himself back into reality. "It wouldn't happen to be run by a Helen Magnus, would it?" Charlie asked.

"How'd you guess?" Henry inquired.

"I found this business card in my coat pocket," Charlie explained while handing Henry the card.

"Where'd you get this?" Henry asked because he knew Magnus, as Helen was called by much of her staff, hadn't given Charlie the card. She was too busy with other things. That's why Dr. Watson, Duncan, and he had come to check on Charlie.

As Charlie went through his recent experiences, he remembered that the man whom had found him by his car had likely put the card in his coat pocket. "A man found who me by my car last night must have put it in my coat pocket while trying to wake me up. I think he said his name was Gregory Magnus."

"Gregory found you?" Watson questioned, paying close attention to Charlie as he answered.

"Yeah, and said something about some guys taking me out of a white van and placing me by my car. What would this Gregory person know of this 'Sanctuary' place and how did you find me?" Charlie asked, temporarily forgetting the others in the room.

"Well, you could say Gregory started the whole thing," Watson answered.

"So, he was its founder?"

"Not this one in particular, but yes he founded the concept. Now, you mentioned people taking you out of a van and placing you by your car. You were taken captive then?" Watson asked.

Charlie was a bit taken aback by Watson's inquiry as he was not used to being the interrogated. "Are you one this place's investigators 'cuz I feel like I'm in some kind of interrogation?" Charlie asked in retaliation.

"Yes, I'm one of them," was Watson's reply.

"Any creepy doctors poking you with needles lately?" Henry interjected.

Charlie shuttered as images of yesterday evening re-surfaced. 'How could they have known what kinds of questions to ask unless they had previous experience with my captors?' he wondered to himself. "How'd you guess?" Charlie questioned Henry. He also took note of Dr. Watson's brace like things around both legs as well as the metal rings with tubes running from them on the pinky and index finger of each hand. The tubes appeared to be going to either his neck or chest, Charlie couldn't tell at the moment.

"Let's just say, I suspect we've had similar experiences," Henry told Charlie.

"And by the way, I don't have a bomb strapped to my chest if that's what you were thinking." James paused for a moment to study Charlie's reaction again. He always had a knack for keen observation and when he had injected the Source Blood along with the rest of The Five, those skills as well as his analytical abilities dramatically increased.

"I hadn't gotten quite that far down my list of possibilities, but that's good to know. What is that thing I was looking at then?" Charlie questioned James in return.

James took off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a mechanical device strapped to or implanted in his chest before answering. "It is a somewhat unfortunate, but necessary component for my survival."

"You still haven't answered my question about how you found me," Charlie pointed out.

James leaned closer to Charlie's ear so that only Charlie could hear his words. "I'm sure there are many, many questions that you'd like answered right now. Here's the problem, because of the delicate nature of the information I can not answer many of them here, in front of your colleagues. It would undoubtedly do more harm than good, although I'm sure your colleagues might be inclined to disagree, at least at first. All and any questions you may have will hopefully be answered soon; however, for that to happen, a change in scenery must occur," James whispered.

"You mean, I need to come to the Sanctuary, alone without any of my colleagues following me?" Charlie asked hushed tones.

"Yes the Sanctuary holds many keys to your understanding of what is currently happening to you and many of these keys the outside world, including your colleagues are not ready or able to understand or except. There's no easy way for me to put this, but you may very well have to leave your job here at the Bureau. However, if that were to happen, you can be assured that Helen or I will offer you a position on either of our staffs," James told him truthfully.

"Well than, I best get home and get packing," Charlie sighed.

"Where should we meet?" Charlie asked James.

"The park near your house, closest entrance to it in an hour and walk, don't drive. I'll inform both Henry and Duncan of our plans later," James requested.

"See you than," Charlie told James. "Look at the time I think I should be getting home. Peter, tell Walter I changed my mind about the hypnosis," Charlie ordered Dr. Bishop's son as he walked out of the lab. He didn't necessarily _like_ what James was telling him, but he _needed_ those answers James clearly wouldn't give to him unless he was at the Sanctuary. This meant he would have to have a chat with Olivia about not looking into where he was going. He could of course just tell her he was going out of state on vacation for awhile but his wife couldn't get off of work in time and had to stay home.


	4. No Pain, No Gain

**Ch. 4: No Pain, No Gain**

Charlie drove home in deep thought. It was 2:30 in the afternoon, an odd time for him to be coming home. Then again as far as he knew, his wife would be at work until around 5, so he could just write her a note saying not to worry, that he was just going to be away on assignment for the next week or two. She would accept that, as she surprisingly always had. He had been forced to keep things from her because of the nature of his work for so long, that he wasn't bother by being vague at all.

Charlie was, however bothered by the very real possibility that he would have to keep things from Olivia. Olivia was a good close friend. One he could talk about work-related things with and he knew her well enough to know she would not take lightly to him withholding potentially valuable information from her, especially if it wasn't classified by FBI standards. He also sensed it would take one hell of an argument, if he could even come up with one, to convince the Sanctuary Network staff that it would be helpful for him to have a confident outside the Network. "It's worth a shot," Charlie muttered to himself as he pulled into his garage and walked into his house. As he though, his wife was not home and he wrote her a quick note explaining in what little detail he could, why he'd be gone for a week or two. He placed the note on the refrigerator and went into the master bedroom to start packing.

He took out a large duffle bag from the closet and plopped it on the queen size bed. Since he didn't really know how long he would be gone or if he was even returning, he packed most of clothes save his suits and dress clothes. Just as he closed the duffle, his cell phone rang. It was Olivia, again. "You're probably wondering why I'm not in Walter's tank, right?" Charlie asked her, as he threw the duffle over his shoulder.

"When did you start reading minds?" Olivia asked him, half joking.

"Since I started getting to know you," Charlie answered back, also half joking. "Anyways, to answer your question, some people who clearly have more experience with situations like mine showed up and I need to go to one of their facilities in Washington state to get the appropriate tests done," Charlie informed her.

"How much do you know about these people? How do you know they aren't ZFT or the people who abducted you? " Olivia questioned, clearly concerned for a long time friend's safety. "I can look into this, if you want," she offered.

"Thanks 'Liv, but one of them was the guy who dropped me off at the adoption agency. Now, why the hell would ZFT or anyone involved in the trails, drop a kid treated with Cortexiphan off at an adoption agency? It doesn't make sense. Look, what I _**do**_ know is, I _**won't**_ get the answers I _**need**_ if I don't go there, _**without**_ you or anyone else from intelligence agencies following me or looking into this. I promise I will call you when I get there, informing you and everyone else I'm alright. Please 'Liv, I _need_ you to just _trust_ me on this," Charlie pled his case to Olivia.

"You do realize that your acting this out of character is not helping?" Olivia asked, at the same time wondering where the Charlie she knew was going and what Charlie was replacing him.

"Yes, but do you realize you looking into this could do more _harm_ than good in the long run? Sometimes secrets are best left secrets."

"Fine, I'll hold off for now, but I don't hear from you in the next 48 hours, I will start a full investigation."

"Thank you. Look, I have to get going. I'll be sure to call you when I get there," Charlie said making a mental note to make sure he contacted Olivia once he got to the Sanctuary. After hanging up the phone, Charlie grabbed his gun and badge, and headed out the front door towards the park where he was to meet James and the others. The park was about a ten minute drive from his house and it was 2:45 already, which meant that he had to hurry if he was going to make his rendezvous on time.

Charlie found James, Duncan, and Henry sitting on a bench waiting when he arrived. "I got here as fast as I could. A colleague called asking why I wasn't at the lab. I had to explain, as vaguely as I could how & why my situation changed. Also, I have to contact said colleague within 48 hours or they will start a full investigation," Charlie informed his new allies.

"Agent Olivia Duhman, I suspect?" James asked knowing he was right. He mainly asked the question to study Charlie's response. If his suspicions about Charlie's situation were right, Charlie would more than likely have to give up his position in the US FBI and would need some form of income. Thus it would follow the boy would be offered a position on one of the Sanctuary's staff, and it was more likely to be his than Helen's.

"Who do you think you are, Sherlock Holmes, a psychic?" Charlie asked.

James let out a soft laugh at Charlie's questions. "While I'm not psychic, I do, do my research and answering your other question requires more privacy than we currently have. We should get going anyways. Helen is expecting us by nightfall," James answered. The four of them walked over to the dark blue-green van parked across the street. Charlie go into one of the backseats. James took the seat next to him, while Duncan took the wheel and Henry the front passenger's seat.

"Why don't you drive since you seem to be the boss?" Charlie asked James, wondering how many secrets this man held.

"I generally don't trust much of the newer technologies; things like automobiles, phones, etc.," James answered.

"How do you communicate with your staff at the U.K. Sanctuary when you're here in the U.S.?" Charlie asked again, wondering if he should have taken up Olivia's offer to do some research on these guys.

"Telegrams," James replied truthfully.

"What you're so old-fashion, you live like it's the 1800's?" Charlie questioned, his patience starting to ware thin.

"Henry, would you make sure the modified EM shield is up?"

"I set it up so that it activates automatically once everyone's in the car. No need to worry about the FBI or any other intelligence agency listening in. Even if they tried a wire tap, what said in here, stays in here," Henry reassured his boss.

"Thanks again Henry. Are you familiar with the Ripper case?" James asked Charlie.

"You mean the "Jack the Ripper" case? It was an assignment given to me as a possible connection to some odd reoccurring case we were investing at the Bureau. Why?"

"What you called, "The Pattern", right?"

Charlie gave James another 'how did you know that' look.' "Yes. My instincts tell me that case file got me into this whole mess."

"That was our theory as well, which is why we tried to get to you before the Cabal did, and no "Cabal" is *not* our name for ZFT," James informed him

"My instincts were right! I knew there was no connection between the Ripper case and "The Pattern"! It was just a set-up for my abduction! Of course, that means, creepy ass doctor guy was telling the truth about them not being ZFT."

"No, actually having the Ripper case, as well as your own un-doctored file, was our doing. The Cabal must have moles amongst you & your colleagues whom found out, and thus kidnapped you as a result."

"So you guys were the British intelligence? By the way, I would prefer you refer to my capture as 'abducted' rather than 'kidnapped'."

"Oh, trust me son, you are a child compared to me. Remember you asked if I was Sherlock Holmes?"

"I was joking when I . . ." Charlie trailed off as the insight hit him. "Oh please don't say what I think you're going to," Charlie told James in disbelief.

"While I'm not the literary Sherlock Holmes, the character was based on my superior analytical genius," James informed the man, despite knowing it was exactly what he did not want to hear.

Charlie stared at James again. He knew these people weren't "normal" as most people would define it, but this was insane! This guy had to be either some sort of time traveler or 160 years old! Knots grew in his stomach as the scope of his situation expanded even further.

"You're wondering how that's possible, aren't you. I am one hundred and sixty years old," James said as if he were reading Charlie's mind.

After hearing this, the only question Charlie could muster was "How?"

Just as James was about to answer, Henry informed them they had arrived at the spot in which the helicopter was to meet them, somewhere on the outskirts of Boston. James got out of the van first to talk with a brown-haired young man, telling him to take the van back to the rental place, as they would be no longer needing it. Everyone else followed James' lead and began boarding the helicopter.

Shortly before they were about to take off, Charlie looked out his window, wondering if he would ever return to Boston again. Uncertainty washed over him as he continued to stare at the city where he spent a good part of the last five years of his live. It was then, that he noticed a familiar looking black mini-van parked near the 'copters take off site. 'It can't be Olivia, she promised to wait 48 hours before investigating,' he thought to himself. Charlie moved himself closer to the window in an attempt to get a better view of the vehicle and possibly its occupants. He didn't have to strain much longer as the occupants got out of the mini-van shortly after he'd spotted it. "NO!" Charlie yelled as he saw who the occupants were: That creepy doctor talking to his wife, her imagine so clear, it was undeniable! "Hu-hu-how!?" he stammered out, shutting his eyes, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

"It's them! We have to leave now!" James ordered the pilot and they took off, heading towards the Sanctuary. 'Poor boy, he's been through enough already,' James thought. It was obvious he knew the woman and she was quite close to Charlie. . He knew it wasn't Agent Duhnam. 'Another close friend, perhaps?' While James knew Charlie was married, he never had found out what Charlie's wife looked like or what her occupation was. 'I suppose the woman could have been her. It would be one of the worst betrayals one could have to deal with and I did see betrayal in both his eyes & body language when he cried out upon seeing her with the Cabal doctor. . . Crap!' James thought as he felt his machinery begin to fail. He knew this might be his last mission; however he had hoped that he would have at least made it to the Sanctuary where Helen could than help Duncan take over. For all his analytical genius, he hadn't planned for the possibility that he might not make it back. As good as the machine was, having kept him alive some eighty years past the norm; it wasn't going to keep him alive forever, no matter how many times it was charged up.

It was Duncan who saw his boss's distress first with Henry busy acting as co-pilot and Charlie too washed over with grief and shock to notice. "Are you alright James?" he asked. "Will you last until we get to the Sanctuary so we can charge the machine?"

"No, I am not alright Duncan. The machine is failing and on its last legs. It won't last much longer. I had hoped to at least make it to the Sanctuary before it started failing for good; then I could have at least said proper goodbyes," James told Duncan, regret in his eyes. "I wish I'd have planned for the possibility that I wouldn't make it back."

"You couldn't have seen this," Duncan said, trying to comfort his boss.

"But I **should** have!" James exclaimed.

"You know, as much as you may hate to admit it and much like Helen, you **are** too hard on yourself."

"Well, as hard as Helen will take the news, I fear John will take it even harder," James informed his colleague knowing this conversation would probably be his last.

"Why do you say that?" Duncan asked, wondering if and/or what his boss and closest friend for some time had been keeping from him.

"John only fell in love with Helen because she was a very big exception to the rule of his homosexuality," James explained before taking pause for a breath.

"Wait, are you telling me you two had a relationship? Did Helen know?" Duncan asked.

"Yes to both your questions," James answered.

Being as caught up as they were in the drama of Watson's dying moments, neither of them noticed that Charlie had been quietly listening in on their conversation. It was bad enough that his world have been turned upside down and inside out in a matter of days, now it sounded like he was about to loose one of the few people who could possibly help him understand what he was going through. This person wasn't just anyone either, this was the very man that had promised him answers! Charlie watched as Watson went from middle aged to a fragile old man within a minute. He knew Watson would not make it to the Sanctuary.

James turned to Duncan and said, "You are ready to take my place, you just don't realize it! Get Charlie safely into the Sanctuary and tell Helen & the others goodbye for me." He than turned to face Charlie, and looked directly into his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the Sanctuary with you. Helen and the others will answer your questions."

Both Duncan & Charlie watched as James drew his last breath. Neither could hold the tears they'd been trying to keep in as the dam finally broke and the metaphoric flood had begun. Both men just looked at one another for awhile as they let the tears fall. Their moment of silence was broken when Henry, via the loud speaker announced they had reached their destination.


	5. Eyes Wide Open

**Chapter 5: Eyes Wide Open**

After receiving word from Henry that they were back, Helen and the others agreed to meet them outside the Sanctuary's front doors. They decided it was best that the Big Guy stay inside for the time being since they didn't want to frighten Charlie with too much, too soon.

"I still don't know how I feel about on FBI agent knowing I'm alive," Nikola Tesla said rather flippantly to the group of four.

"Oh, would you quit with the drama," John Druitt remarked, clearly annoyed with Nikola's behavior.

"Here we go again," Will Zimmerman said, rolling his eyes.

"Can you two stop bickering for more than five minutes? Please, more important things are at stake!" Helen exclaimed.

Meanwhile, on the car ride to the Sanctuary, Charlie & the two remaining members of his "rescue" team were attempting to regain their composure: Duncan & Henry enough to give the news of Watson's passing and Charlie enough to look presentable. Than again, how is one supposed to look when meeting someone who was likely around the same age as Watson, and running some secret facility that Charlie still wasn't quite sure what went on behind its doors? As they got out of the car and walked towards the Sanctuary, Charlie could only gasp. "Damn! Gothic, castle looking thing was not at all what I had in mind," Charlie said as he tried to take in the full scope of the large building.

"Not quite the look you were expecting," a tall bald man with a British accent inquired, giving Charlie a piercing intense look.

Nikola, a slightly smaller & much thinner man with brown hair & eyes noticed Charlie's reaction to the other man's unnerving glare. "There you go again with your intimidating glares. You always were good at scaring innocent people."

"Gentleman! Where's James?" Helen asked, giving both men stern glares.

"He um, he didn't make it back," Duncan replied with downcast eyes. "He is very sorry that he couldn't make it back to say his own goodbyes."

Upon hearing the news of their friend and colleague's death, both Helen and Will leaned against the front door for momentary support, while Druitt and Tesla could only stare, too shocked to move. This was particularly difficult news for Druitt to absorb. It was only recently that he and James had begun to put their difference beside them. The trip to Ba'alesom the Cabal had set up, started the healing process. Sure time had played a role as well, however it wasn't until they were forced to work together to retrieve the Source Blood that any real healing had begun.

He had told James that his actions as "Jack the Ripper" were not of his free will; that a force so powerful it simply took him over propelled those crimes he had committed so long ago. James had also told him it was not that he hadn't been able to solve "the Ripper" case, but the mere fact John himself was the "Ripper" that had hurt the most. John vividly recalled the pain in his now gone friend and once lover's eyes. 'Why couldn't we have been there?' John thought to himself as silent tears began to fall. At Ba'alesom, he seemed to be the only one who noticed James' distress and gave him any assistance. He almost thought it better if James had died at Ba'alesom, as it looked like he might have. At least, the remaining members of "the Five" would have been there then.

His tears fell not only for himself, but for Helen as well. Of the original members, James, Helen, and himself had been the tight nit core of the group and now they'd both lost him. He stood there transfixed, trapped between wallowing in his own sorrow and helping Helen with hers.

Nikola wasn't in much better shape than John was. Though he'd never really admitted it to anyone else, he was rather fond of James. James had reminded him of his older brother, Dane. Dane was the one person who Nikola thought might have been capable of truly understanding him. Dane had also possessed the ability to visualize thing so intensely, that he had trouble telling the difference between them and what was real.

After James had been injected with the Source Blood, he seemed to have gained the same ability that Nikola and his brother had once shared. Once Nikola had discovered this, he confided in James his own ability of vivid visualization and the event of Dane's untimely death, but requested that James keep this between the two of them. That was the main reason he put up a front of annoying brat towards James in public; he didn't want the others starting to ask questions for fear he would have to relive that horrible moment once more. In private however, Nikola sought out James' friendship and worked on many projects with him. Despite the loss, Nikola was almost glad he hadn't been there to witness Watson's death. It would have been like watching his brother die all over again, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold it together. He had barely held thing together at Ba'alesom when they all thought he just might die. Thankfully they had gotten him back to the Sanctuary in time to re-charge the machine Watson and him had built and designed to extend his lifespan. 'This time he wasn't so lucky,' Nikola thought as his eyes started to water.

Charlie, even with his own grief to work through, noticed the reactions of the two bickering men and the woman who had come outside to greet them. He presumed the woman was the mysterious and yet somehow familiar, Helen Magnus. She looked like she was somewhere in her middle to late thirty's; however Charlie had a feeling she was _much_ older than she looked. If she could answer his questions as James had promised, than this Helen was probably around James' age as well. Charlie wondered how she managed to stay so young looking if she was, in fact, somewhere around 160 years old.

After having taken a few moments to regain her composure, Helen took a deep breath and looked at the one person she did not recognize right away. It wasn't until she had gotten a good look at his eyes that she realized the grown man staring back at her was the young werewolf, James had brought here almost thirty years ago. There eyes locked for a moment of recognition. 'He's beginning to remember,' she thought. "You must be Agent Francis, Dr. Helen Magus," She introduced herself whilst offering a hand.

"I gathered that. FBI Special Agent Charlie Francis, pleased to meet you. I only wish we could have met under more pleasant circumstances," Charlie answered, taking Helen's hand.

"I see you've met my technology expert & lab assistant, Henry Foss, as well as James' second in command, Duncan Wilson," Helen said, pausing a moment to caught her breath. "This is my psychologist on staff, Dr. Will Zimmerman," Helen continued, motioning for Will to step forward. Will did as Magnus instructed and nodded to Charlie in recognition.

Charlie nodded back in return. "And the other two men would be?"

"Oh, John Druitt," the bald man with the British accent from before said.

"So, you're a _special_ agent. What's you're specialty?" the skinny, pale man asked Charlie.

"Are you always this rude? I work with the FBI's Fringe Division," Charlie replied

"What, I was just curious. Nikola Tesla," the man said, finally introducing himself.

'Great more smart-asses,' Charlie thought while assessing Nikola's behavior and noticing the smirk on John's face.

"Wait, didn't you die sometime in the forty's?" Charlie questioned Nikola.

"Most would say the answer to your question is yes," Nikola answered.

"Well how can you be who you say you are than?" Charlie asked again, clearly perplexed.

"You're the FBI agent; I trust you're smart enough to figure it out," Nikola replied, having way to much fun annoying the hell out of Charlie.

"Nikola enough! Let's get inside," Helen demanded. She had enough of Nikola's antics for the moment. "Fair warning, Agent Francis, you're about to leave the world you know behind," Helen told Charlie as she opened the front door and headed inside.

The others followed her lead, but Charlie lingered a bit, thinking about Helen's last statement. _"Fair warning, Agent Francis, you're about to leave the world you know behind."_ The statement was stuck in his mind. There was something about the way Helen said it, that gave Charlie a gut feeling that she was right. Not that he hadn't left much of the world he knew behind when he become an agent, but he had regained some of that world upon joining the Fringe Division. There was no doubt in his mind that he had been recruited into the Division because of his earlier, more controversial and unsolved cases. He had come to like working with the Fringe Division and wasn't sure he wanted to leave that world behind. However, he knew the difference between his wants and potential needs in this case. He knew he might need to leave that world behind whether he wanted to or not. He went through the front door Will was holding open and walked with Will and the others to the elevator shaft. Once the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Charlie stepped out into the open space and looked around.

"Welcome to the Sanctuary," Helen told him, as she and everyone else followed him out of the elevator.

All Charlie could do was gawk, open mouthed at what he saw. He had come across many different oddities while working on cases within the Fringe Division, but even those somehow didn't compare to what he was seeing now. He felt amazed yet uncertain, wonder yet fear. He saw a wide variety of 'things', was the best word he could of at the moment, everything from mermaids to upright walking lizard people! Considering his experience with the "monster" in the park, Charlie wondered how many of these 'creatures', yeah that was maybe a better word to use, were genetically created by Helen and her staff.

"He's the last of his kind. I was lucky to find him when I did," Helen told Charlie, noticing where his gaze fell.

"Find!? You mean none of these, creatures, were man-made?"

"Yes. I know that maybe hard for you to believe. Much of even your division FBI refuses to believe in these creatures existence. It makes their life much easier if they deny it." Helen said.

"So let me get this straight, you run a Sanctuary for freaks of nature?" Charlie asked, still having a hard time believing all of this, despite the familiar feel the place had.

"I wouldn't call them freaks unless you are willing to call yourself one. Also, I'd rather you call them abnormal," Helen replied sternly.

"It's one thing to admit psychic abilities exist; it's a whole other to admit mermaids are real! And not just real, but natural!" Charlie replied, clearly unnerved.

"We understand your reluctance and frustration. We were once in a similar position ourselves," Duncan finally spoke-up again. It was hard to believe this man was the youngling he & James had dropped off at the adoption agency so long ago.

"Perhaps Helen's office would be a better place to discuss this?" John suggested.

"Actually I was thinking we should let Charlie get settled into a guestroom first?" Will asked, looking to Helen for agreement.

"I agree. Will, Henry meet me in my office in 30 minutes. John, Nikola we have test results to analyze. I trust you won't try to kill each other. Duncan, would you help me get our guest situated?"

All nodded in agreement and went their separate ways. Once everyone else was out of the sight, Charlie felt comfortable enough to ask, "I've been here before, haven't I?"

"I could see that you were starting to remember," Helen answered as she started walking towards the guestroom.

"I don't really remember being here. It's more the familiar feel this place has," Charlie answered, following Helen to his guestroom.

"Once they reach the guestroom Charlie would be staying in, Helen opened the door and handed Charlie a spare key. Charlie walked into the room, placed his suitcase on the full size a soft bed, with two pillows & a nice comforter as the top layer. There was a moment of silence before Charlie noticed Duncan had taken a seat next to him on the bed, while Helen had sat down on the lounge chair next to the bed.

"You look tired. Perhaps you should turn in for the night and we'll resume this conversation in the morning," Duncan suggested.

Charlie thought about Duncan's proposal for a moment. Although he had many questions to ask; he was tired and felt he would better digest the answers after a good night's sleep. "I think that would be best."

"Do you need anything? Perhaps a cup of tea or a glass of water?" Helen asked as she and Duncan got up to leave.

"No thanks, I've got my water bottle right here," Charlie told her.

"See you in the morning then."

Charlie watched both of them leave as he took a drink and pulled out his cell phone to call Olivia as he had promised. It turned out she must have been busy with another call, so he left a message on her voicemail saying he'd gotten here safely and that he was alright. Charlie took off his shoes and changed into something comfortable to sleep in. He let out a sigh as he turned back the sheets. Tomorrow he would get the answers he needed.


	6. Finally, Some Answers

Author note:

Ch. 6 is now complete!

Also, I *DO NOT OWN* borrowed lines from Sanctuary Season 2 openner, they belong to Mr. Kindler. WATCH THE EPISODE!!!

**Ch.**** 6: Finally Some Answers**

A knock on the door woke Charlie from his drowsy half sleep sometime mid-morning. "Just a minute," he answered as he lazily pulled the covers back and got up to answer the door.

"Did I wake you?" Duncan asked when he saw Charlie standing there in a white t-shirt and black boxers.

"Actually I was about to wake up anyways," Charlie answered with a yawn, noticing Duncan was carrying a tray with what he presumed was a coffee pot and two cups.

"May I come in?" Duncan asked tentatively.

"I don't see why not, just let me get dressed first," Charlie replied while he grabbed his clothes for the day before heading to the bathroom on the other side of his guest room.

Duncan looked around the room before setting the tray down on the table in the far right-hand corner of the room near the bookshelf. After setting the tray down, he took a seat in one of the chairs. He wondered how well Charlie would take the answers he would be given today. He seemed to be taking what little information he had already received quite well and that was just the "tip of the iceberg". Charlie's apparent ease digesting this information was undoubtedly due to his time spent working in the FBI's Fringe Division. However, Duncan speculated Charlie's ease would decrease as he gained more extensive knowledge of his situation. Duncan took a deep breath when he saw Charlie come out of the bathroom dressed in a light blue button up blouse and black slacks. 'Here goes nothing.'

Charlie sat down in the chair opposite Duncan, an unsure look on his face. "Coffee?" he asked.

"Yes, you should thank Dr. Zimmerman for that. If it weren't for him, Helen probably would have never let this "awful brown sludge" as she prefers to call it, in this place," Duncan replied with a chuckle.

"Fiercely British I take it?" Charlie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yes. So, how are you taking all of this? I mean what you've gone through in the past 48 hours even, has to be the biggest shock of your life and that is only the beginning," the older man asked.

"I gathered what I've seen and heard so far is only the beginning. Working for the Fringe Division has helped somewhat, but honestly I don't know what to think. I thought alternate realities were heard to rap my head around. Psychic abilities I can handle alternate realities I'm beginning to handle. Finding out I've been living a lie most of my life, I . . . I don't really know if I can handle," Charlie managed to get out as a shaky hand reached for the coffee cup Duncan had just poured him.

Duncan looked at the man sitting across from him, noticing he had answered the question with eyes mostly downcast. Despite having the appearance of a relatively well groomed man, with shaking hands and a quavering voice, Charlie reminded Duncan of the traumatized youngling he had been so many years ago. "How well did you sleep last night?"

"Surprisingly well, where's Helen?" Charlie said.

"Helen and the others are busy right now. They thought it best that I be the one to check in on you, answer your questions and show you around," Duncan replied, moving his chair closer to Charlie's.

Charlie lifted his head, looked Duncan straight in the eyes and asked, "Do I, um, have any living relatives?"

"Blood relatives, no you don't. You were the only survivor," the older man answered, the reject in his eyes plain to see.

"If I'm some "abnormal", as you call them, why wasn't I raised here?"

"Both James and I wished you were. We practically begged Helen to let you stay here. We knew neither of us could take you in, but Helen had both her daughter Ashley and Henry to take care of, plus this place to run. She didn't have the time or resources and neither did we. That being said, the three of us decided giving you something to delay your metamorphosis and giving you to an adoption agency was the best way to keep you safe and off the Cabal's radar for the time being," Duncan told him.

"So, what exactly am I? I mean why am I so valuable to this Cabal?" Charlie asked, trying to divert the conversation from where it was headed. The former FBI agent knew he was on the verge of remembering the horrific event that had killed all his family, but he wasn't ready to have that memory triggered. Hell, he wasn't sure he was ready for Duncan's answer to the question he just asked!

"Well, you are, what most people would call, a werewolf," Duncan finally replied after a long pause.

Charlie starred at the other man wide eyed for a second as of to say "what!?" before falling off the chair and passing out as a flood of images hit him hard:

_He was in the forest again but this time with others who Charlie somehow knew were his family. One of them was looking directly at him. Charlie understood that she must have been his mother. He watched as a paw came up behind his mother. He heard her yelp in pain as the paw struck her in the back of the head. She silently, telepathically gave him a message to run, to get away while he still could. Paralyzed momentarily by fear, young Charlie watched as his mother turned to face her attacker, who happened to be another werewolf and snarled before counter attacking. The two fought each other to a bloody death, killing one another right in front of his eyes!_

Charlie bolted awake. He sat up abruptly whilst trying to catch his breath. His heart was still beating rapidly in his chest from the terrible memory that had just resurfaced. "She . . . she died for me," was all he managed to say, his body still in shock, his eyes swelling with tears ready to fall.

Duncan sat down beside the former agent and began to rock him, holding him in a comforting hug as though he were Charlie's father. Hell, right now he wished that James and he _had_ found a way to keep him and raise him! "It's alright, I'm here. It's safe. No one is going to harm you," he told Charlie softly. He was clearly traumatized again. He must be remembering events from the massacre that happened 30 years ago in that forest outside of Brooklyn.

Charlie leaned into Duncan's hug. For the moment he was glad to have something firm to support him as the world he thought he knew came crumbling down even more. Charlie starred at the bottom row of books on the bookshelf, as silent tears began to fall. He was slowly beginning to understand why both Duncan and James kept the true nature and reasoning beyond his adoption from both the agency and his adoptive family. The fact that he was really a young werewolf instead of the young boy he appeared to be would not have gone over very well with either. He was a werewolf. After having the memory of his real mother being killed in front of him, he could no longer deny the truth. The irony in this of course was, he had a hard enough time believe in many of the things he had investigated in his recent work with the FBI's Fringe Division. Still, how would he explain why he couldn't come back to Olivia? Would she even accept him if she knew he wasn't really human? "Where do I go from here? How do I live now that I know what I really am?" Charlie asked.

"Well, why don't I show you around the rest of this place and we'll go from there?" Duncan suggested. Despite being unsure if he was ready or able to stand up, Duncan released Charlie from his hug.

"Since, I'll probably be making this or some other Sanctuary my home, I might well get to know where everything is," Charlie answered with a sigh as he grabbed the chair to help himself up. He walked over to the bed, put on his socks, and slipped on hi shoes.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

As soon as the two left Charlie's guestroom, they ran into Will.

"Finally found you. We've got ever more problems. Ashley broke into a facility in Montreal and stole some computer files," Will informed Duncan with a worried look on his face.

"Wait, Ashley as in Helen's daughter?" Charlie asked, confused about the whole situation.

"Yes, the Cabal has held her captive and has been somehow controlling her for six weeks now. What's even more interesting is what kind of files she stole. We got the facility to hand over the hard copies to the files. Magnus and the others are looking at the files right now in the big lab and wants your input," Will told Duncan.

"Well, I am an FBI agent, or maybe former agent. Perhaps with my connections I might be able to help?" Charlie suggested.

"With Charlie's connections we might not have to get information semi-illegally," Duncan said.

"Alright, this way," Will said as he led them to where the others were.

As Charlie walked into the same big open space he'd seen when he first set foot in the Sanctuary, he noticed that tables had been added to hold what he assumed were the hard copies of the stolen files.

"Hard to believe a 'Jack the Ripper' file got me into this mess," Charlie commented.

"Oh, they gave you my file, did they?" John asked, turning around to face Charlie.

"You're 'Jack the Ripper'!?" Charlie asked, taking a step back.

"Yes, he is. Don't worry, he's sane for now," Helen answered.

"Ok, MI6 takes 6 orphans and performs this DNA scrubbing procedure. Why? I mean what's the end game?" Will asked hands on his hips.

"Perfectly flawless DNA? Is that even possible?" Henry asked after reading part of the files.

"Well they came close. The idea was to strip away any defects in their genetic make-up," Helen explained.

"When did this project happen?" Charlie asked, trying to gain a more thorough understanding of their situation.

"Over 20 years ago. Helen was called in to evaluate the project after it had been running for a few years," Duncan explained further.

"So, is this project still active?" Charlie asked, wondering to himself if ZFT knew about this and were doing something similar.

"No, I had the project shut down. The orphans than became property of the state and were eventually adopted," Helen stated.

"Well, whatever the Cabal's reasons for having Ashley steal the files, it has to have something to do with the Source Blood, other wise why goad us into stealing it?" Tesla remarked, while pouring himself another glass of wine.

"I agree, but for what cause. Something to do with genetics obviously, but with the field as big as it is, it could be anything," Helen answered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down people. This 'Source Blood' as you call it, why is it so important? I mean what is it; what does it do?" Charlie asked, not sure he wanted to know the answers.

"We don't have time for long explanations to new comers," John said in frustration, adding even more tension to an already tense room.

"Sorry for John rudeness, but he's right. The Cabal have our daughter and are using her for some special project, one that can't be a good thing. While I can't explain everything about the Source Blood, I will tell you this: its pure ancient vampire blood that activates latent abnormal DNA," Helen told Charlie.

"What!? You, you can't be serious!?" Charlie exclaimed, unsure if he was ready for the world he thought he knew to completely crumble just yet.

"I vant to suck your blood," Nikola mocked after he changed into his vampire form complete with pit black eyes and nails along with sharp teeth.

"Everyone in the room, except Charlie who looked like he had just seen a ghost glared daggers at Nikola. "What!? I was just _showing_ our guest that Helen was in fact _serious_ about the Source Blood being vampire blood," Nikola said after turning human again.

"This is no time for games Nikola! We don't have much time. Whatever the Cabal is planning for these orphans, they are in grave danger. Henry, I'll need you to go though the list and find out where they all are now. We need to get them into protective custody as soon as possible," Helen instructed.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to help," Charlie interjected, knowing he wasn't getting many more answers until this crisis was dealt with.

"He might be able to help me locate the Project Montana orphans faster with his connections," Henry mentioned to his boss.

"Alright than, you can go help Henry," Helen said with a nod as Henry, followed by Charlie, left the lab.

"You know this is kind of a small place to be running security from," Charlie commented on, as he walked into Henry's security lab and sat sown at a computer.

"It doesn't need to be big, especially with the EM shield up," Henry replied.

"What do you need an Electro-magnetic shield for?" Charlie asked.

"To help with outside interference and to prevent people like "Jack the Ripper" from teleporting in this here," Henry answered.

"So, how exactly did Helen and those two ends up getting their hands on vampire blood?" Charlie asked as he was attempting to get into the FBI database.

"Something to do with her father, but I don't know the details. All I know that Druitt can teleport, Tesla can turn into a vampire, and Magnus is as old as she is because of the Source Blood. You having any luck finding these orphans?" Henry explained to Charlie.

"No, I can't even get in the database! For some odd reason, my access codes won't work," Charlie told Henry in frustration as he got out his cell phone and called Olivia.

"Do you have any idea why my access codes aren't working?" Charlie asked, when Olivia answered the phone.

"Charlie!?" Olivia asked in shock.

"You sound surprised to hear from me. Listen, I need to know why my access codes aren't working. This place could use my access to the database to find some orphans who are in danger," Charlie told her matter of factly.

"You're codes probably aren't working because you're supposed to be dead. You called saying that your plans had changed and you were coming back Boston. Once you got here, cyborg shape shifters from an alternate reality killed you, took your form, and then after they got the information they needed out of me, the shape shifter posing as you tried to kill me. If I hadn't shot it in the head first, it probably would have," Olivia told him.

"Okay, look, whoever they killed, it wasn't me. I haven't left the Sanctuary," Charlie informed Olivia.

"Then, who the hell did they kill? Where is this "Sanctuary" you're at anyways? I won't believe you until I see you myself!" Olivia insisted.

"'Liv, I really don't think it's a good idea that you come barging in here. We're in the middle of a crisis here and I don't what you in any more danger than you already are. As far as the shape shifters killing me and taking my "body", I'm assuming their victim has to be human right? Well, there's no easy way to put this, but I'm not completely human, which makes me think even if this shape shifter dude tried to kill me, he wouldn't have been able to. Look, like I said, we've got a crisis here and I've gotta go," the former agent told his ex-partner while hanging up the phone.

"We gotta find Magnus and move fast! 4 of the 6 orphans went missing already," Henry stated as he got up to go find his boss with Charlie following shortly afterwards.

In one of the hallways, both ran into Helen. "Did you find what we needed?"

"Yes, but 4 of them went missing the past couple of days and I bet the window's closing on the other 2, one in Essex, UK and the other in Vancouver, BC" Henry informed his boss.

"We've also may have other problems to deal with. Apparently someone cloned me and then had some machine-human hybrid shape shifter kill this clone to get to my former partner, so when I called her to ask why my access codes weren't working, she claimed she was coming here to me for herself," Charlie told Helen.

"Oh dear, it looks like the Cabal already know how to scrub DNA, so they can superimpose their own DNA code," Helen concluded.

"You think the Cabal are the ones who clones me?" Charlie asked her.

"Yes, I'm presuming they took your blood while you were captured, which means they would have your DNA to work with," Helen started.

"And they probably thought ZFT would notice my absence, so they performed the scrubbing procedure on my clone," Charlie finished for her. "So, how do I deal with Olivia when she gets here?"

"Hopefully, this bloody mess will be solved by then. Henry, get John. We need to move quickly," Helen instructed as Henry went off to find John.

**~Several Hours Later~**

Henry, Duncan and Charlie where waiting in the big lab, when Magnus, Will, John, and Tesla came teleporting back rather quickly from there "castle storming" as Henry had called it.

"Well, that was fast," Henry, replied, at the team's quick return.

"It didn't go well," Tesla retorted.

"She was waiting for us," Helen told them.

"And it wasn't any Ashley you'd know," Will added.

"They've used the Source Blood to change her," Tesla observed out loud. "The only prodigy of two Source Blood altered abnormals, smart move."

"We have to hurry! They'll be more just like her very soon!" Helen stated as she stomped out of the room towards where the Cabal's operative, Kate Freelander was being held.

"That's not good," Charlie muttered, mostly to himself.

"No, it's not. They've used the Source Blood, to turn Ashley and soon the other orphans into super vampires," Tesla told him.

"So, you times ten!? How the hell are we supposed to stop them!?" Charlie asked as Magnus came storming back into the lab with a not so happy look on her face.

"I should have known that's what they wanted. The whole Sanctuary Network under their control," Helen informed everyone else, shaking her head. "We need to find a way to neutralize her powers without harming her," Helen stated, looking at both Tesla and Henry.

"I'll get right on it," Nikola said as he left with Henry for the weapons lab.

As soon as Henry and Nikola left the room, Magnus received video from Tokyo informing them that Ashley and the mutants had successfully attacked. Upon hearing this news, Helen then held a videoconference with the acting head of the UK Sanctuary in London and thought their best course of action was to head there to finish the weapon and help with the defense there. "It will probably be best if you stay here with Charlie, in case his partner does show up," Helen told Duncan.

"Oh, she'll show up, I'm just glad she hasn't come knocking on the door yet," Charlie told them. Charlie and Duncan watched as John teleported the rest to the UK Sanctuary, leaving then to figure out just how to deal with Olivia once she got here.

"Apparently, you spoke too soon. I'll go get some water," Duncan replied as he heard the doorbell.

Charlie barely had time to react, as Olivia just about tackled him upon opening the front door. "Nice to see you too. Can I breathe now, or are you trying to suffocate me to death," Charlie greeted his former partner.

"Oh, sorry. I see you are your old self," Olivia said as she backed away.

"Sort of. Listen because of the crisis I mentioned earlier there's not much here. The boss wanted many of the inhabitants to be taken away to safe locations off site. The only reason I'm here is because I knew you'd show up eventually. Now, I **_need_** you to promise me, **_that everything and I mean everything that gets said here, stays here, no exceptions_**," Charlie told Olivia.

"Well, knowing you're alive might be a bit hard to keep a secret," Olivia told him honestly.

"Well, you're going to have to. It's probably better that way. Some of the stuff I'm about to tell you, I think will be hard for even Dr. Bishop to rap his head around," Charlie said as he showed Olivia to the foyer and took a seat on one of the couches.

"What could possibly be hard for Walter to rap his head around?" Olivia asked, slightly amused.

"That you're sitting in a sanctuary for many of the world's myths and legends. Things such as werewolves, Big Foot, mermaids, etc. To boot, these myths and legends weren't man-made," Charlie answered.

Olivia just starred at her former partner. "What!? Are you serious?"

"Yes, Liv, I am. A part of me still wishes it wasn't, but I'm remembered too much, for that part to stick around much longer. Remember, I was telling you how the shape shifter, couldn't have killed me?" Charlie asked her. Damn, he wished Duncan were here with the water right now. He could use a glass.

"Yeah," Olivia replied tentatively.

"Well, that's because I'm what most people would call a werewolf. My captures, they weren't ZFT. They were something far worse that no intelligence organization is ready to handle. My captures knew I wasn't human even when I didn't at time. Ok well, I knew, I just buried that piece of information with a painful memory," Charlie answered with his head down, staring at the floor.

"Wow, I would have never thought you'd be the one to come up with something that might throw Walter for a loop," Olivia responded after a long pause.

"Neither did I. Neither did I. Look, this isn't easy for me. Here I am thrown into the middle of the biggest rude awakening of my life and now the only people could possibly help me though this, are under attack by some ruthless organization worse than ZFT. I want to help, anything to get my mind off what I'm going through. But in the end, I can't do much just because I don't have enough experience with this kind of thing. Neither of us do even with all those crazy Pattern cases," He told her, tears now on the verge of falling.

Olivia just sat there with Charlie, not really knowing what to say. It wasn't easy for her either. After thinking Charlie was dead for weeks and then finding out he was alive, and also something that wasn't really supposed to exist in many people's minds! Not only that, but she had to keep this a secret, lest Walter start thinking she really was going crazy! She knew Charlie wouldn't joke about something like this, but how was she supposed to respond to this?

At this point, Duncan returned carrying a tray with three glasses and a water pitcher. He quietly, sat the tray down on the table in front of them and poured both Charlie and Olivia a glass. "I imagine this conversation isn't easy for either of you. If this were all too much too fast, for both of you, I would understand. It isn't easy being thrown into this world; one that requires you suspend your disbelief of many things society has taught you. It's not always easy keeping it a secret either. There have been times where I've wanted to be able to tell someone outside the network about what I do for a living, but can't because 1. They will think I'm either crazy, brainwashed or getting spammed and 2. The outside world just isn't ready for this, that's why the Sanctuary Network exists," Duncan said in an attempt to comfort and reassure both Charlie and Olivia.

"So, how do you deal with it all?" Charlie asked the older man with tear stained eyes after taking a drink.

"I accept it for what it is," Duncan replied, pouring himself a glass of water.

"Look, I know I just got here, and I wish I could stay later, but I just got a call from Peter about a case in Seattle," Olivia told the two men as she got up to leave, putting a hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"Good luck. I hope it's not as crazy as what's going on here. I'll walk you to the front door," Charlie replied as he grabbed her hand to help himself up. At the door, Charlie gave Olivia a hug goodbye. "Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me considering we may never see each other again."

"Thanks for letting me in and it was good to see that you aren't really dead. Oh, and my lips are sealed," Olivia said to her former partner, zipping her lips as walked out the door.

Charlie took a deep breath as he watched Olivia leave, possibly for the last time. Duncan's last words stuck in his head, _"I accept it for what it is."_ It was now Charlie's time to "accept it for what it is," and although at the moment he was struggling, he knew with time and the help of these people, he would come to accept where his life was headed, whether he liked it or not.


End file.
